HOOD

Robinhood Markets, Inc.

An app-based brokerage that lets everyday people buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, and fractional shares right from their phone, with no trading commissions. Stanford classmates Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt founded it in 2013, inspired by the 2008 financial crisis and Occupy Wall Street, to "democratize finance for all." The name plays on the legendary outlaw Robin Hood — the company's mission of "robbing from the rich" institutions and "giving to the poor" everyday investors.